Brienzer Rothorn to Planalp is indeed 900 meters downwards, but it is good to walk because the walk is longer (as the Railway) and not so very steep. When you are lucky you can walk in the snow in the summer a little bit..........

But, you can also walk from Spiez to Faulensee, that is indeed a very, very easy walk on the border of the Thunersee and back by boat.

Although you could certainly spend your entire trip in the Bernese Oberland and enjoy every bit of it, personally, I believe that Luzern is too good to be missed.

So, I do not agree with Brahm's advice to skip Luzern.

You could give some thought to choosing only one of Mürren or Wengen, but they are different enough to make it reasonable, if slightly inconvenient, to split your time between them. It is true that access to Schilthorn is easier from Mürren.

In my opinion, I'd stick with the Luzern section. And, it is easy to access from Zürich airport.

Brahms didn't even mention Luzern I think. He just provided some good options for the Berner Oberland part of the itinerary.

I think it makes sense to first stay in Luzern, then the Berner Oberland (I would also pick just one village there), then Zermatt. With 11 days, this is certainly possible, although two base towns would work as well.

I've done some of those when I was not in good condition. Some have significant down hill stretches. If you are not used to that kind of hiking, you can get sore knees fast. I did. ;-(

I'd suggest a look at map that shows altitudes or a conversation with the innkeeper to check that out.

The link that I gave to the Swisstopo map above can help.

Slowpoke

Brahms

320
poststop member

Jun 22, 2016 - 11:06 AM

But we are in Switserland.... These routes are very easy, unless you're in a bad physical shape, if that's the case I recommend you walk from Interlaken Ost to Interlaken West.

Everywhere in the Bernese Oberlands are mountains and therefore hills. The routes I gave you are intended for people with an average physical condition. You can walk these routes with three people next to each other.

Could you share some guidance on the most scenic trains with the below plan? Will my swiss pass allow me to travel on all these trains?

June 30-July 2 (2 nights): Lucerne

July 2-5 (3 nights): Wengen

July 5-7 (2 nights): Murren

July 7-9 (2 nights): Zermatt

July 9: Zurich (1 night)

Also should have elaborated on easy to moderate hiking. We are used to hikes within 2.5-3.5 hours that are not too steep. Also we love cycling so would recommend any routes from Wengen, Murren or Zermatt? Would we be able to hire cycles easily?

Apart from "official" scenic routes, there are many wonderful train routes all across the country. Too many to list. One of them is Spiez - Kandersteg - Goppenstein - Brig, which can be included while traveling from Mürren to Zermatt.

Bicycle routes will be pretty steep in most areas you mentioned. Mountain bikes can be rented in several places, but I don't have a list. Your hotel should be able to direct you to the nearest rental place. Some even rent bikes themselves.